Stanley Heaps Praise on NBC for 60, 30 Rock

The New York Times' television critic Alessandra Stanley is not known for mincing words. Never shying away from making too bold a statement, Ms. Stanley has been called "gratuitously nasty" by the Public Editor of her own paper. Perhaps that is just part of the reason why her departure from Cynic-in-Chief in yesterday's Times is a must-read:

These two very different behind-the-scenes looks ["Studio 60" & "30 Rock"] at network intrigue were among the most vaunted shows of the fall season and did not meet expectations, yet both survived the midseason tumbrel. Turns out cold-eyed corporations don’t always look at the bottom line to determine the fate of fledgling television shows. Neither series is a hit, and “30 Rock” is perilously close to a flop, but both are good enough in their own right to merit more time: “30 Rock” was moved to Thursday nights to follow “My Name Is Earl,” “The Office” and “Scrubs.”

G.E. apparently really does want to bring good things to life.

The best television is necessarily uneven. A conventional hit sitcom like CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” is consistent, if not always consistently funny, but more original material needs larger margins for error.

Stanley is right to point out that more substantive shows need more time to develop and find an audience, but that doesn't stop her from praising the show as it has unfolded already:

Each strand is beautifully written and acted; together the emotionalism grows cloying.

But the show keeps bounding back. The most recent episode produced a hilariously mirthless veteran comedy writer hired to train Matt’s rookie staffers. The perils of Jordan, who is ever on the brink of being fired, keep twisting, and backstage romances flicker and glow under the opalescent lighting that makes the series’ look so distinctive.

“Studio 60,” like “30 Rock,” is better when it’s not about network television, but about the people who happen to work inside it. And at their best, the two shows are unequaled by anything else on network television.